A Times-News Blog

From the Editor's desk

As I prepare to leave the newspaper business just before Thanksgiving, perhaps the biggest reason to give thanks this year will be the knowledge that I will never have to deal with covering an election again. Boy am I glad. Odd how that happened. I was raised in a very political family, one that loved elections perhaps more than anything else. My great-aunt was among the first women in state politics, serving in the state Senate. My great uncle… Read More »

It would be difficult to find more stinging rebukes of North Carolina’s misbegotten “bathroom law” more commonly known as House Bill 2 than the ones crafted by newspapers across the state and nation over the past several months. Or perhaps those announced by entertainers like Bruce Springsteen; or corporations like Target, PayPal or LabCorp; or universities such as Duke, Wake Forest and Elon. But on Monday the NCAA found a way. Then the governing body for intercollegiate athletics was topped… Read More »

I see a lot of editorial cartoons and there’s no doubt in my mind that at least one portion of this is true. Donald Trump is the single most cartooned candidate I’ve seen in more than 30 years of newspaper work. As for the world . . . we may find out, won’t we?

I traveled to Chicago last week for a meeting of newspaper editors under the umbrella of GateHouse Media. We talked about lots of stuff during the day-and-a-half of panel discussions and PowerPoint presentations. Drank a lot of coffee, too. Pretty typical editors’ conference all things considered. We discussed new websites (we’re getting one in a few weeks). Meeting our digital goals (more video, more video and more video) and presenting for print what they call “Big Journalism” meaning in-depth packages… Read More »

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia cast a long shadow over the American legal system for nearly all of his three decades on the high court. He was a singular figure, regularly quotable with opinions about the rule of law that blow well past strong. He was a conservative’s conservative who counted liberals among his friends. He was engaging, thought-provoking and for many just downright provoking to the point of extreme agitation. People who knew him well enjoyed his company, including… Read More »

The death of David Bowie, which was announced early Monday morning, caught most if not all by surprise. His medical condition and the extent of it was a guarded secret. He released an album last week, on his 69th birthday no less. The latter proved prophetic. He planned it that way, a final musical statement to coincide with his demise from a battle with cancer. He was, in fact, a showman to the end. It made me recall the only… Read More »

We get a good number of holiday-related editorial cartoons from all over the world via our syndication services. Some are edgy, some are heartfelt. Here’s a few to sort through on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Enjoy . . . or wince. Merry Christmas to all.

Haven’t had a complaint about an editorial cartoon in a while, which perhaps tells me I’m too careful in my selections these days. After all, there’s always something that offends someone, especially in the realm of editorial cartooning. But I did get one on Wednesday night. Here’s what the reader had to say. . . . Your latest editorial cartoon (Dec.. 9th) reached a new low in my book. I have gotten accustomed to the constant barrage of cartoons which… Read More »